Many times, while in the process of looking up one word, you will need to look up a second. This is a new word you are unsure of and it is part of the definition of the first word. At times, this can become rather involved, and you can find yourself looking up a whole string of words. This is one of the best possible and most fruitful exercises for your mind. As you do this, be sure to keep a list of the words you look up so you will not become confused or lost. Many students will find themselves looking up a string of 5 or 10 words to truly understand the original word. It is not uncommon to look up a great number of words at first while you begin to practice this habit of increasing your vocabulary, but it becomes easier and more fun as you continue.
There are many books with lists of vocabulary words to study, memorize and use. Feel free to use and study them. However, I feel increasing your reading to a wider range of materials will give you more meaningful and lasting training. In addition, it is more fun.
Guessing
Many times you can guess at the meaning of a word from the context of the sentence or paragraph. Often this will suffice for your immediate understanding of the word, but at some later time you should look it up. Otherwise, you may end up in the woods, because you thought you knew what it meant and did not stop to look it up and check. This can confuse and frustrate you in reading; also, it can cost you more time than looking up the word in the first place.
If you don’t know the complete and correct meaning, you may substitute your own partial or incorrect understanding for what the author is saying. Following this, you may think that the author doesn’t make sense or doesn’t know what he is talking about when really you are the one with the problem. This can happen with simple words as well as complex ones, so you’ll want to look them up as well. What is the definition of "by", "for", "a", "with", "to", "the", and so on? Go ahead, don’t be embarrassed. Look them up and check yourself.
97 Some people never really learn to use a dictionary at all. It is not surprising that many times their understanding of the world around them is poorer than it could be.
What they are reading or hearing is not necessarily what the author or speaker is saying.
People should at least be familiar with the instructions and directions at the front of their dictionaries. Some dictionaries will list words with the most commonly used meaning first while others will list the meanings in the chronological order of their evolution. This can affect what you think the dictionary says the word means. The dictionary is a true storehouse of information, but you need to learn how to use it correctly and effectively to benefit fully from it.
We use words to communicate with each other, and the dictionary is our common set of rules for what our words mean. Without using it, our communication is limited and uncertain. Over and over again, students make mistakes, get confused and do not understand what they are trying to read. This is where they may decide they are "stupid" or of low ability and quit. There is a solution: use the dictionary. I keep stressing this because no matter how fast or slow you go, you cannot read what you do not understand. If you do not understand, it is your responsibility.
At times you will need to consult special dictionaries in order to learn the definitions and usages of technical terms. These often have a particular meaning in the discipline you are studying, while they may mean something entirely different in general usage. Usually, it is fairly easy to spot this situation, and your librarian will be happy to help you find the necessary reference materials.
Along with using your dictionary, knowing prefixes, suffixes and roots is helpful, although you need not memorize them. The following are among the most commonly used:
con, com, col with conductor, commercial,
collection
de from deduct, defrost
dis apart, not discolor, disappoint,
disarm
en, em in entwine, entitle, embrace
ex out export, exhale
in, im in, into income, impose
in, im not impure, invalid
ob, of, op against, away from obstruct, offend, oppose pre, pro before, in front of prepare, prenatal, propose,
projectile, promote
post behind postpone
re back reply, repel
sub under subsonic, subject
super over, above superior, supervisor
trans across transpolar, transship
un not unhappy
Some of the more common suffixes are:
Here are some of the most used Latin roots.
Root Meaning Examples
fac, fact, fic to make or do facile, faction, fiction
fer to bear, carry transfer, ferry, infer
mis, mit to send submit, admission
mov, mot to move movie, motion
par to get ready prepare, repair
pos, pon to place, put pose, possible, opponent
port to carry portable, porthole
spect, spic to look, see inspection, conspicuous
sta, stat, to stand standby, stationary
tend, tens to stretch tendon, tension, extend
ven, vent to come venture, convention
vid, vis to see vision, provide
Suffix Meaning Examples
al pertaining to formal, musical
ble, able, ible capable of being forcible, available
ence, ance state of repentance, persistence
er, or, ist, ian performer of consumer, visitor, dentist, physician
ful full of careful, beautiful
Ic pertaining to metric, artistic
ly, y in the manner of truly, stony
man one who cameraman
ment result of, act of argument, management
ous, ious, eous like, full of joyous, laborious, nauseous ry, ty, ity condition of, finery, safety, purity
tion, sion act of temptation, decision
99 These lists are not comprehensive, but they do include many of the prefixes, suffixes and roots you will see most often in general reading. As with all words, there is more than a single meaning for most of these. If you only knew one meaning and assumed it was the correct one in every case, you would end up misunderstanding many words and messages. This is why you need to be sure you have the correct meaning and usage of each word as you read, and it is critical when you study.
The reader has the task of taking each word, each piece of the puzzle and reassembling it correctly in his mind. When there are many possible meanings, you must choose among them for the most appropriate. If you are correct, you will understand fully and read easily and quickly. If not, you will have difficulty, get confused and likely wonder what you are reading.
Codes
To a large extent, reading is working with codes. Each symbol stands for something. The author has encoded the information in words and you must decode it.
Look these words up in your dictionary if you’re not sure what I mean, because it’s the key to our code.
Now do you see what I’m saying?
Your ease of understanding is your key. If the material makes sense and you can follow it well, then you probably are understanding it correctly. You are decoding it correctly and getting the message. This does not necessarily make what you are reading true, as we shall see later, but it does indicate that you are correctly under-standing what the author is saying. The final test of your underunder-standing is how well you can use what you have read.
Vocabulary is your key to accurate reading. You may have to look up the meanings and search for the correct definition, but when you do, you are going to be able to read and comprehend well and easily. Everything said here is generally applicable to all communication. It can help you communicate in listening, speaking and writing as well as reading.
Textbooks often include glossaries of specialized terms. Usually these are found in the back of the book. You should use them as frequently as you can.
Memorizing vocabulary is okay, but looking words up as you see or hear them is far more effective. Those you need you will retain, because in your daily life you will be using them, not losing them.